Worlds and Individuals, Possible and Otherwise

Takashi Yagisawa

An original contribution which will advance the discussion on the metaphysics of modality

Clear and engaging writing

Worlds and Individuals, Possible and Otherwise

Takashi Yagisawa

Description

Modal realism says that non-actual possible worlds and individuals are as real as the actual world and individuals. Takashi Yagisawa defends modal realism of a variety different from David Lewis's theory. The notion of reality is left primitive and sharply distinguished from that of existence, which is proposed as a relation between a thing and a domain. Worlds are postulated as modal indices for truth on a par with times, which are temporal indices for truth. Ordinary individual objects are conceived as being extended in spatial, temporal, and modal dimensions and their transworld identity is explicated by the closest-continuer theory. Impossible worlds and individuals are postulated and used to provide accounts of propositions, belief sentences, and fictional
discourse.